


We’re Better Together

by NaoSa (orphan_account)



Category: Fablehaven Series - Brandon Mull
Genre: Fablehaven - Freeform, Family, Holidays, Multi, One-Shot Collection, Romance, new powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27134122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/NaoSa
Summary: A collection of one-shots taking place before, during and especially after where Brandon Mull left off in Fablehaven, so non-compliant with Dragonwatch! We'll see many different aspects and moments of various characters! Romance, friendship, family, holidays, fluff, humor, and maybe a little adventure! Who knows what I’ll throw in!CONTINUED ONLY ON FANFICTION.NET!Rated Teen, just in case. But has no cursing or any of that, it’s just purely because I’m paranoid and just in case of violence,
Relationships: Kendra/ Bracken - Relationship, Warren/Vanessa
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	1. Boy’s Party, Girl’s Night

**Author's Note:**

> Let’s see where this goes :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Just a few words before we get started! :)
> 
> So I wanted to write a collection like this for no apparent reason. I’m going to try to make these my best work possible, so (respectful) feedback is highly appreciated.
> 
> This was inspired by the amazing Yakall! (She’s here as well! Check out her profile! She’s amazing!) and Alyssa Belle, on fanfiction.net!
> 
> Updates will be random, because schedules do not agree with me. Those who have worked with me before may already know this. Well, I’ll stop for now! Let’s get this started!

Kendra lay down in the grass, taking deep breaths. Her almond hair was laying softly in the grass with her mossy green eyes pictured on the clouds. Sometimes, she and Bracken would lie down in the grass and point out the best clouds.

She saw the unicorn maybe once or twice a month, sometimes more and sometimes less. She wished she could see her friend more, but he often needed to be in the fairy realm. People were counting on him, and he could not give that up to see some mortal girl.

The fairies curiously fluttered around Kendra, trying to tell if she was asleep or not, for she had closed her eyes mere moments ago. The fairies had their share of respect for Kendra and were always bragging that they were the ones Kendra liked best. One had even claimed Kendra made her, her handmaiden.

Kendra smirked at the thought, what would she do with a handmaiden? And a handmaiden to a handmaiden? Was such a thing even possible? And even if she did have to choose a fairy, it would be Shiara. Not that she admitted this out loud.

The fairies noticed her smile and playfully started dancing and twirling around her head. Kendra smiled genuinely, "You look beautiful," She said to the fairy next to her ear. The fairy wore a beautiful orange dress, and had amazing orange hair flowing gracefully behind her back, Kendra had to admit she was lovely.

The fairy giggled happily, "I know!" She smirked at the other fairies, who wore envy plain on their face, not a very good look for them, but it was hard for fairies to be anything but pretty. They looked at themselves as if trying to figure out what was wrong with them, but of course, there wasn't a thread out of place.

"You all look beautiful," Kendra assured them, and the fairies giggled happily as well before all three flew away. Most likely to brag about their compliment from the Fairy Queen's Handmaiden. It never got old watching the fairies gossip. Especially when they bad mother her brother, she always found that the most amusing. But out of loyalty to her family, she would always ask them to stop. Not before adding her addition to the conversation.

"So do you." Came a male voice from behind her, one she had not heard in over a month. Kendra turned around, and sure enough, her unicorn friend stood right behind her. Kendra blushed at the compliment, but quickly shook it off, so she could greet her friend.

Kendra wished she could say she walked over calmly and aloofly, but she practically ran into him, tackling him in a hug. Of which he was happy to comply and soon had his arms around her as well. Kendra quickly pulled away, "I thought you weren't going to make it!" She had indeed invited him over to celebrate year one of not being dead by demons, but she was so sure he wasn't going to come.

"Plans changed last minute." He said, apologetically, "Is the offer still open?"

"Of course!" Kendra said cheerfully, "You're always welcome here!"

They both took a seat on the beautiful quartz bench that sat in the middle of Kendra's rose garden. One of Kendra's favorite spots at Fablehaven, no argument necessary. It was a recent development, a gift from Bracken a year ago. The archway was enchanted so that only someone with Kendra's blessing could enter. It wouldn't keep you safe on a festival night, but it was enough to keep out nosy siblings and cousins.

There were also perfect shrubs delicately trimmed into beautiful shapes and colors of all colors bursting. Seth and Warren had caught sneak peeks at her garden, but she rarely allowed them in. Bracken was one of the people allowed in without hesitation. Kendra trusted him not to destroy her work or snoop.

Sometimes, Kendra would even hide things there that she wanted no one else to find. All she had to do was hand it to a flower, and it would be taken into the beautiful roses. Only to come out when she wanted to see it again, or maybe another reason.

"Do you like it?" Bracken asked, admiring how well kept the roses were. Just because it was magic did not make it perfect, but Kendra had dedicated hours each week to it. Keeping it well kept and beautiful for her and others to admire. Kendra could get lost in the beautiful garden, but she always had a reason to come back out.

"I love it." She gushed, "It was an amazing gift. Thank you so much!"

"Of course!" He replied, "I only gave it to you, you're the one who kept it beautiful. I really can't take all the credit, you did just as much as I did, if not more."

Kendra blushed bashfully, "You're the one who gave it to me." She countered, "I would never have it if it wasn't for you." Kendra could've sworn for a second, Bracken's cheeks were a dusted silver. She wondered if that was a unicorn thing, after all, he does have silver blood.

"How have you been doing?" Bracken asked, in an attempt to change the convention. Kendra secretly agreed to where he was driving, and played along. She told him about a small mission she had gone on for the Knights. Nothing big, she assured him, just to check up on a preserve.

"And how did it go?" He asked curiously, "And what preserve was it?"

"I forget the name." She admitted, "But it was mainly dessert, not much else to see. It wasn't Lost Mesa though."

"The Sandstone preserve?" He asked curiously, taking his guess at the preserve name.

Kendra snapped her fingers, "That's the one," she agreed, "It was mainly dessert like I said. Their main attraction was this giant pyramid. It overlaps with the modern world a bit, they call it an Egyptian Temple to the gods, but it is just the fairy queen's shrine."

Bracken laughed, "I suppose it could be called a shrine to the gods. My mother is commonly known as Mother Earth to them. Or in some legends the goddess Athena or something like that."

"I hope some of those legends are wrong," Kendra muttered under her breath, causing another chuckle out of Bracken.

"Most are." He admitted, "I hope that brings some relief."

Kendra laughed, a melodious sound that everyone who could hear seemed to melt at, especially Bracken. It sounded like tiny bells, all in tune and harmony.

For the next hour, they talked about everything, but also nothing. Bracken had been recently working on the castle. He told Kendra he couldn't wait to show her the fairy realm. It's going to be amazing, He promised. It won't be as good as our old one, but it will still be amazing in due time.

"How's your father doing?" Kendra asked, being careful in her word choice. She knew this was a sore subject for Bracken, but she truly was curious.

Bracken lowered his head, "Not much has changed since we found him," he admitted, "But the healers say in time, he will get better. He hasn't yet talked, but we think he has a small grip on reality. He was preserved through terrible curses, by the worst demons. It's a miracle he is still intact at all."

"I'm so sorry," Kendra whispered, she had honestly thought he would be all better soon. She never knew much of the details of what he went through, but it seemed the more she heard, the worse she felt.

Bracken brightened for her sake, "It's not your fault Kendra. You saved him! I wish we had known so we could've mounted a rescue!"

"You want to head inside?" Kendra suggested, in an attempt to change the topic.

Bracken smiled warmly at her, before gracefully getting up with ease. He put out a hand to help Kendra up, which she gratefully accepted and held tight. She didn't get up nearly as gracefully, but Bracken didn't seem to mind.

"There you are, Kendra!" Seth exclaimed, "Now we can finally eat!" His gaze turned to Bracken, "Dude!" He cried and put out his hand for a fist bump, which Bracken awkwardly attempted to do.

"Hey… bro." Bracken attempted to use some of the modern terms Seth had taught him. Kendra would never tell Bracken this, but it was fun to watch him try and be modern. The best reaction she had ever gotten out of him was watching a movie for the first time. He was very questionable about technoledgy to say the least and was always pointing out the flaws in the movie.

"Still not very social, I see." Seth joked as Bracken rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Old habits die hard." He replied, attempting a small smile.

"I thought you weren't going to make it!" Seth said happily, "Kendra was very sad when you said you weren't going to make it." He winked happily at his sister, who blushed.

"Anyway," Kendra started, "Did Warren and Vanessa get here?"

Seth waved his hand, "Yeah, Vanessa's in the kitchen helping cook. Warren and I were about to watch a movie, you want to come to Bracken?"

Bracken looked over to Kendra, "What about Kendra?" He asked politely.

"I was going to help in the kitchen." She admitted, "Go have some fun with the boys. And no watching scary movies! Last time, Seth wet the bed." Ah, sweet revenge, she thought.

"Kendra, you promised!" Seth pouted, "I didn't even do that for the record!" He added quickly.

"Uh-huh." She smiled innocently at him, "And he cried during Finding Nemo!"

"Fish are friends, not food." Seth mumbled under his breath, "And why did that have to happen? It could have been a way happier ending."

"Tell that to the salmon you ate last night," Kendra countered.

"Okay, that's enough." Grandpa Sorenson said, walking through the room. "Be nice."

"I'm sorry, Grandpa." Kendra gave him an innocent look.

"It's alright. Let's just remember to be kind."

Seth pouted dramatically, "Why is Kendra always forgiven!" He whined, "Why don't you ever forgive me for anything!"

"Because Kendra isn't selling batteries to the satyrs, sneaking out, stealing cookies. Shall I go on?" Kendra mocked childishly.

"I'll get you for that." Seth vowed, "And Kendra?"

"Yes?" Kendra asked.

"Will you make your signature brownie trifle?" Seth pleaded, "You haven't made it in forever!"

"Brownie trifle?" Bracken asked curiously, "What is that?"

Seth rubbed his hands together, "Kendra makes this amazing dessert. It's full of layers of strawberries, raspberries, brownies, whipped cream, chocolate chips! It's so good!"

Kendra gasped, "Did you just say something nice about little old me?"

Seth rolled his eyes, "Don't get used to it."

"I don't know what half of that is, but it does sound good," Bracken admitted.

"I'll make it." Kendra said cheerfully, "For Bracken. Not you Seth."

"I still get some right?" Seth asked hopefully, "You're the best sister in the world and I promise I will never be annoying! And I'll clean your room or something! Please, please please!" He begged, almost down on his knees.

"Fine." Kendra said we'll gesturing for him to rise, "Only because I'm so nice. Now go watch your movie."

"Yeah!" Seth whooped, "Come on mud! Let's go!"

"Mud?" Bracken asked, scrunching up his eyebrows in a way that made Kendra chuckle. "Your name means mud in some language, and now what Seth is going to call you for the rest of your days. Honestly, though, your nickname could be worse. He calls Vanessa, ``Vampire for one thing."

Bracken shook his head, before following Seth out of the room. Kendra then quickly turned around to head to the kitchen. When she walked in, she noticed Vanessa was preparing an entire chicken and chopping vegetables. "Hey, Van." She said and grabbed an apron.

Vanessa looked towards her friend, "Hey Kendra." She said, chopping up a few carrots.

"Need any help?" Kendra asked.

"I don't need much help right now." Vanessa admitted, "But I am guessing you wanted to make dessert? And I'm also guessing Seth begged for a brownie trifle and you agreed?"

"You're good." Kendra admitted, "And Brackens here for dinner as well."

"Can't say I'm jumping up and down with joy," Vanessa admitted as Kendra playfully smacked her arm.

"Be nice." Kendra scolded, "I know you have some ancient rivalry or whatever and enjoy exposing each other's secrets and all the junk," Vanessa tried to protest but was cut off, "Work it out. Or I am going to lock you guys in some room until you agree. And maybe if I'm nice I'll leave you with a trifle."

"Mean." Vanessa bit her lip playfully, before going back to cutting her vegetables. Eventually, the trifle was prepared and dinner was finished. Kendra had ended up making some of the side dishes as well, but Vanessa made the whole chicken, definitely something worth bragging about. "You want to go get the boys?" Vanessa asked.

"Sure." Kendra whiled her hands on her apron before hanging it back up. She wanted to scare the boys, and she knew just how to do it.

She quietly walked into the TV room, where the three boys were watching The Walking Dead. Warren and Seth looked terrified, well Bracken just kind of sat there. Unphased with how scary the movie was as if he had seen worse every week. Which then again, he probably had.

Kendra knew Bracken would be able to see her coming because of her aura, so she was careful and put some of her lessons to use. Dimming her aura so it was gone, she grew closer to Seth and Bracken, moving as quietly as possible. Soon she was mere incense away from her cousin and brother. She leaned closer, waiting for the perfect moment in the movie and then…

"Boo." She whispered in their ears, causing them to scream. Bracken was not so easily scared and instead had joined Kendra in the laughing as they all struggled for breath. All for different reasons though. Some for they were terrified, and the others out of amusement.

"It's dinner time! And you're on the menu!" Kendra choked out through her laughter.

"I hate you," Seth complained.

"No, you love me!" Kendra shot him her best innocent look that could make a demon melt.

"Yes, I do." Seth agreed.

Warren chuckled, "Kendra could convince an ogre to give up its treasure!"

"I wonder if that'd work though…" Seth mumbled under his breath.

"I swear." Bracken promised, "When we were charging into battle, when Kendra waved at this one demon, the demon paused to wave back before it got killed by a fairy."

"Alright, that's enough," Kendra said playfully.

"Yeah, let's worship me for a bit." Seth added, "Who wants to hear some of my tales?"

Kendra rolled her eyes, "Let's go eat dinner, and we all know I have the better adventures," Kendra winked, "Who's the one who saved Fablehaven again?"

"Now that's a story I want to hear," Bracken asked curiously, "Is that how you became Fairykind?"

"I want to hear that too," Warren admitted.

"Sounds like I had a story to tell." Kendra smiled as Seth pouted and mumbled something about a walrus and unfair fairies.

* * *

Everyone happily gathered around the table. Lots of their friends had made it. Even Mara had made it up. But the full list was Kendra, Seth, Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson, Warren, Dale, Vanessa, Tanu, Mara. Kendra and Seth's parents were still oblivious to the magical world. They had left such obvious clues in attempts to show them, but they just didn't care.

Kendra and Seth were sad about their parents not knowing what they had done, but they enjoyed "Trying a brand new, amazing school" with their grandparents and staying there with them.

Everyone seemed to be eating up Kendra's story about saving Fablehaven. Even the ones there were still interested in her story. Kendra had also been very careful to emphasize all the things Seth did wrong, because she loved her brother like that, especially when he pouted.

"So let me get this straight," Bracken asked, "You have never broken a treaty, managed to get in touch and were blessed by the fairy queen, imprisoned a witch and a demon, saving Fablehaven and all its residents?"

"Yeah," Kendra agreed sheepishly, "The fairies did most of it though. I barely did anything." Bracken looked at her in raw awe, not helping her blush.

"Anyway, who wants dessert?" Kendra asked.

"Me!" Seth whooped enthusiastically as Kendra headed back into the kitchen, to then emerge with a spotless, brownie trifle. The strawberries were designed elegantly in their layers and with a beautiful pattern on top. Along with just the right amount of chocolate shavings. Needless to say, Kendra was a baker.

As Kendra scooped out perfect slices of trifle, everyone talked about endless things. Annoying people, missions, among other things. Nothing big seemed to be happening, besides a few rumors that were almost a hundred percent, proven false. Some so exaggerated that they weren't even considered, or some just plain stupid.

The look on Bracken's face could've been sold for hundreds of dollars when he bit into Kendra's trifle. He then mumbled about how humans have changed for the better, well devouring his trifle. It reminded Kendra of the first time Bracken saw technology and plumbing. The look on his face was truly not one you could fake.

By the time everyone was finished eating, it was time to turn in for the night. Much to some of their protests, Seth and Warren wanted to continue to watch The Walking Dead, well grandma said they would be up all night. Eventually, Seth and Warren caved in. But in exchange, he and Warren got to have a sleepover in Warren's cabin. Along with Bracken, who had been unfortunately wrapped in as well as always.

Kendra and Vanessa had also planned their own girls night with Mara, now that the attic was free of pesky little brothers, something Seth complained about, saying that Kendra was the annoying one.

And by the time all of this had been sorted out, the sun had set hours ago. Kendra sat on the floor of the attic as Vanessa did an elegant braid down the back of her head. She and Mara talked about all the good rumors and missions they had heard about.

Recently, Mara had reclaimed the Lost Mesa preserve and was now caretaker with Elise's help. Mara also had talked about a crazy rumor about some powerful artifacts, but again, nothing important. It still made good gossip though. They were enjoying their peaceful moment, but the same could not be said in the boys' cabin.

Poor Bracken had somehow been roped into crashing the girls' party. Seth and Warren had managed to stay entertained for an hour, quite possibly a record, before they got bored and wanted to do something else.

"Please, Bracken!" Seth pleaded, "It's going to be so fun!"

"I'm not doing it," Bracken huffed, "It's an invasion of privacy, just do it without me."

"But you'll tell Kendra we did it!" Seth whined, "All she'll have to do is wink before you start confessing all of our sins! If you do it with us, she won't be as mad!"

"Please, Bracken!" Warren joined in the pleading, attempting to do puppy dog eyes, but miserably failing that made him look more like an angry cat if that was possible.

"Fine!" Bracken raised his hands in surrender, a frequent gesture of his. "I'll go with you, but I am not doing anything crazy like dumping water on them!"

"Deal!" Seth said gleefully, in a way that almost made Bracken nervous.

"Why do I feel like I just made a deal with the devil," Bracken muttered under his breath, which Seth heard.

"For the record, I am a shadow charmer, that does not make me a devil," Seth corrected, "You could call me a demon, but I ain't a devil. If I were a devil, Kendra would be an angel. I know you think she is an angel sent down from the heavens, but that girl does have an evil streak to her." Seth smirked in satisfaction at Bracken's flustered, silver face. "Let's go!" He said cheerfully as he headed out the cabin, his two friends in tow.

It was a ten-minute walk to reach the house, but Seth shadow walked, making it less than thirty seconds. He stood against a tree, smirking in satisfaction when his two friends reached the house later on. "Took you long enough," he said slyly.

"Not all of us have powers, Seth." Warren rolled his eyes.

"I bet you wish you were more like me," Seth teased mercilessly, "Then you would have super cool poses and thousands of adoring fans."

"I would rather be powerless than like you." Warren retorted, flashing his signature Warren-freaking-Burgess grin.

"Shh," Bracken scolded, "You're going to give us away!"

Warren faced the unicorn surprised, "I didn't know you were so into this," he said, true surprise in his voice.

Bracken rolled his eyes, "If we are going to do this, let's at least do it right." He said, giving his troublemaker grin.

"This is why you're my bro," Seth said, "Even if you may be a little softie at times."

"I would be careful, Seth," Warren warned playfully, "This is the powerful fairy prince. He'll sic the fairies on you if you don't behave."

"Oh, I'm so scared," Seth mocked.

Warren smirked happily, "From what I hear, those fairies turned you into a mutant walrus."

"Kendra," Seth cursed as Warren laughed happily.

"Gents, let's go," Bracken said, before quickly turning embarrassed at his old fashioned speak.

"Gents?" Warren laughed at Bracken's choice of terms.

"I'm still getting used to this modern language," Bracken defended, "You humans are always changing!"

"Bracken is right, though," Seth agreed, "We should get going if we want to scare them."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Warren asked.

"Alright," Seth rubbed his hands together, "You know that ledge outside the attic window? I am going to shadow travel up there and climb onto the roof. You guys will climb that tree," Seth pointed to a tree near the house, "And then throw me this rope. Well tie it down on both sides and you guys can climb over."

"Do you always just keep some kind of rope on you?" Warren asked, gesturing towards the rope in Seth's hands.

Seth flushed, "You never know when you might need it," he said defensively before shoving it into Warren's hands, who caught it out of reflex. Seth then proceeded to whisk himself away into the shadows, to appear minutes later on the ledge, and then the roof. Warren and Seth then followed their steps, and the plan worked almost flawlessly.

Unless you count when Warren almost fell off the rope and did a very high shriek. Luckily, or not luckily, depending on your opinion, Bracken caught him just before he fell. Soon, they were both standing on the roof alongside Seth.

"Good plan." Warren approved, "Now what?"

"Now you guys go nighty night." Came the voice from behind them, and that was all the three boys remembered before they were knocked out.

Kendra smirked in satisfaction at the three unconscious boys, with Mara and Vanessa both standing cheerfully behind them.

"I can't believe they thought they could sneak upon us!" Vanessa laughed, "They're bickering could be heard from across the preserve if not farther!" Mara chuckled slowly, which for her, was rolling around on the floor, dying of laughter.

"Now what do we do with them?" Mara asked.

"We give them a makeover." Kendra flashed her two friends a bright grin.

* * *

When Seth, Bracken, and Warren woke up that morning, they found themselves tied to a chair at the dinner table. But they were not the same as last night.

Warren wore a blood-red dress and high heels and a sapphire necklace. His face was covered in blush and other makeup. Seth woke up in a mossy green jumper, with a matching umbrella and beanie, his makeup similar to Warren. Bracken had on a sky blue dress and his hair covered in barrettes.

And if that was not bad enough, the whole crew was watching and snapping pictures.

"You look nice, Seth." Kendra smirked happily, "I just say though, green is not your color."

Seth thrashed against his bindings, "you're dead!" He spat.

"You're the one who tried to sneak up on me last night. Thank you for bickering so loud, it helped us out." She leaned over and tauntingly kissed all three boys' cheeks, even Bracken's and he was just a friend. Though if you looked closely enough, you could see pink and silver dusted both of their cheeks.

"Did you have to do it for me!" Bracken complained, "I was forced!"

"Yes," Kendra raised both her eyes brows and flashed a grin, "All I see is you with the enemy, or in this case, a super cute jumper."

'At least you've got a jumper!" Seth whined, "I am wearing a freakin ball gown!"

"I don't know what you're complaining about!" Warren said, doing his best to strike a pose against his bindings, "But you have to admit, I look fabulous!"

Everyone mentally smacked their foreheads at Warren, "Sure Warren." Vanessa said, "I do have to say, you look very manly in that dress."

"You think so?" Warren said, almost hopefully, "Maybe I should wear dresses more often! I bet they are pretty good for sword fighting! Makes you look deadlier too!"

Nobody could tell if their poor friend was serious, but they honestly didn't want to know.

"How long were you an albino again?" Kendra asked.

"A few years," Dale answered.

"Really?" Kendra faked surprise, "I would think he's been an albino since he was five! Because when he was an albino, his maturity seemed to stay the same." Kendra high fives her blix friend in satisfaction.

"You are so mean to me." Warren gave the pouty eyes, "Can I come out now?"

"Not until you say you're very sorry," Kendra crouched and looked at Warren as if he was a little child, just sent into time out.

"I'm very sorry," Warren said childishly.

"And you promise not to it ever again?" Kendra said, her tone sweet as honey as she bopped Warren on the nose.

"Yes, mommy." Warren squeaked.

"Then you can come out now," Kendra nodded to Mara who in a flash, cut their bindings.

"I'm going to go change," Seth said dashing up to the attic.

Kendra turned to Mara, "Did you complete phase 2?"

Mara smiled, "His close are now scattered in the most populated areas in Fablehaven, and everyone has promised not to give him anything else to wear, so he will have to go out in that." She reported, "Good plan Kendra."

"You aren't an angel," Bracken muttered under his breath and flipped his hair, "Not an angel indeed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! *insert self promo that really makes you want to kudos/comment* See you at the next chapter! :)


	2. You Better Listen Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s a new chapter for you!
> 
> This is a redo of I See The Light, chapter 16 on my fanfiction account. (Same username!!) And this was requested by the fabulous Yakall. She’s amazing!

Seth yawned as he stretched out across his bed, wiggling his toes as he did so. He must have slept a good twelve hours last night. He often didn't get a lot of sleep due to his 'Late night study trips', so these extra few hours were a blessing. Even if it was because he was in trouble.

He knew he shouldn't have gone out partying with the satyr's the other day, no matter how much gold he was promised to be their wingman. Did he ever learn? He smirked to himself as he answered his question. Nope.

"Good morning!" Seth said happily as he danced around the kitchen, with no particular destination in mind. Accept to annoy his sister of course, that was always on the day's agenda. He felt like starting extra early today. After all, doesn't the early snake get the mouse? The shadow charmer the fairykind?

"Shut up." Kendra muttered as she took a long sip of her hot chocolate, "It's too early for all of this."

"It's never too early!" Seth said, "It's a brand new day, day, day!"

"And quite possibly your last." Kendra smirked in victory, "Now leave me alone little brother before I perform my terrifying fairy magic on you."

"Oh no!" Seth cried, "She's going to glitter bomb me! Quick, run for your lives! That stuff takes forever to get out of your hair! I don't want to be pink! Oh, the horror." He put his hands over his ears and ran around the room screaming his nonsense at the top of his lungs. He almost made Kendra think he had gone insane, but that would be assuming he had been sane before.

"Seth, could you please stop!" Kendra exclaimed angrily, "Can't you just be a civilized person for once!" To her notice, Seth immediately stopped screaming. She smiled to herself, clearly unconcerned at her brother's sudden obedience, before returning to her hot chocolate.

She sprinkled a few extra marshmallows on top. Why hot chocolate you may ask? Because she hates coffee, it tastes like dirt to her.

"I was getting bored with that anyway." Seth sniffed, "Don't know why I stopped though."

"It's a little something called common sense." Kendra teased, "Clearly, you've never had any of it before so you wouldn't know what it is. Good to know you're not as dumb as I thought little brother." She added the last part playfully, knowing he wasn't fond of the nickname.

"You're so mean." Seth huffed, "I happen to have a lot of common sense, thank you very much. I think it's you who doesn't have any. You read too much."

"Brilliant insult!" Kendra applauded. The mornings always made her a bit more sarcastic than usual, but today was a bit more than others. "What a flyting! I am deeply wounded! My pride shall never recover from such an incredible insult. Too far?"

"Too far," Seth confirmed, his trouble-maker grin returning. Kendra saw his grin too late as he dashed up to her and snatched the hot chocolate from her hands before vanishing back into the shadows.

"Seth!" Kendra cried into the empty kitchen, "I'm going to kill you!"

And somewhere out there, hiding from his sister, Seth Sorenson waited now, drinking her hot chocolate in satisfaction. The start of another perfect day. Viola started to moo, shaking the entire barn and chasing him to start spilling his hot chocolate. Well, the almost perfect start of a new day, he would say.

* * *

"Kendra, what are you cooking up?" Vanessa walked over curiously to the kitchen.

Kendra shrugged, "I was just in a baking mood." She said, "It's also Bracken's birthday and I wanted to do something special for him. Apparently, they don't celebrate birthdays often in the fairy realm, probably because of the fact they're practically immortal, but I wanted to do something special for him."

"Would you feel offended if I poisoned the cake?" Vanessa joked, almost a little too seriously in Kendra's opinion. "I've had this new poison I've been wanting to try out."

"Haha," Kendra said. "How about you help me bake the cake instead? We both know you love decorating cakes Van. You sure went all out on Warren's a few months ago. How many layers was it again? I counted twenty before I gave up, and I didn't even try to measure the frosting."

Vanessa huffed, but Kendra knew that deep down she had won the argument. It wasn't hard to see how much Warren and Vanessa cared for each other, it made Kendra smile to watch them. She just hoped she got to be a bridesmaid at the wedding.

"I'll help," Vanessa said, pulling on an apron.

Kendra raised an eyebrow at her, "And?"

"I won't poison the cake." Vanessa said, "I'll only help cook it, I won't ruin it no matter how much I want to. Creatures of light are the worst though."

Kendra stuck out her bottom lip at Vanessa as she turned on the beater, "I thought you cared about me," she said, "I'm technically a creature of light you know, Miss. blix. Or is it Mrs. Burgess now?" Ah, revenge is sweet.

"You're hilarious," Vanessa said, "If you want my help baking this cake I suggest you take all of that back. As you said before, I am known for my decorating skills. I was thinking we would make this one a beautiful silver-blue."

"Like his eyes," Kendra said, a little dreamingly.

"And you say I have it bad," Vanessa said victoriously, "For what it's worth, he has it bad for you as well. Have you seen how he looks at you sometimes? It's priceless."

Kendra's cheeks tinted pink, but she did her best to shake it off. "Very funny Vanessa," she said, "You try so hard girlfriend, but it isn't going to work this time. Can you dye the frosting for me? I always end up adding too much of it and ruining the color."

"Sure," Vanessa said, "Give me a minute to take care of that. I want to finish up this batter first, but did you really choose confetti cake?"

"I like confetti!" Kendra said defensively, "It's fun."

"Very fun," Vanessa said, "You're only doing three layers, right?"

"I wanted to keep it simple." Kendra said, "Bracken still isn't very social and can get a little nervous with a lot of attention. We're not inviting anyone up either, so we won't have as many people."

"That's smart," Vanessa agreed.

"Thanks," Kendra said, as they continued to exchange news. Vanessa has been going on a lot of missions lately using her knowledge of the Society Of The Evening Star, so Kendra hadn't seen a lot of her recently. It was nice to get to talk to her for a bit.

Eventually, when they were both putting the finishing touches on the cake, Kendra smiled victoriously. "I think it looks nice," she said.

"Too good for Bracken," Vanessa said, "I hope for a better cake on my birthday."

Kendra rolled her eyes, it seemed some things really would never change. And this rivalry was one of them. Maybe she should do a few bonding exercises with them… hehe. "I promise I'll make you a cake that is just as good," Kendra promised.

"Better," Vanessa countered.

"Worse." Kendra declared.

Vanessa waved her finger at Kendra, "Extra flavor."

"Worse flavor. Give up." Kendra challenged, with quite a bit of passion in her voice.

"Fine." Vanessa said immediately, "I surrender." She blinked, clearly confused. It wasn't Vanesa to back down from a fight like this, and this was something Kendra knew. She was starting to get a little suspicious of all this sudden obedience from her friends.

"Good," Kendra said.

"Wait, why did I surrender?" Vanessa said, "My cake should be better!" Kendra slapped her forehead.

* * *

"I am Warren freakin Burgess!" Came the furious battle cry, "Beware or face my wrath!"

"Warren, I'm not giving you any of the cake!" Kendra emphasized, getting fed up with her cousin. "This cake is for Bracken's birthday! You can have some of it this afternoon, I promise! I can't just give him a cake with a slice missing!"

"Sure you can!" Came the response.

"Well I could," Kendra said, "But I won't. I'd rather watch you suffer."

"I thought you were a creature of light, a fairykind for goodness sake! Handmaiden to light itself!" Warren ranted, "Kind, caring, and with the biggest hearts in the entire world. And you won't give a slice of your giant cake to a hungry man?"

"You can hardly be called a man," Kendra said.

"I've killed demons!" Warren declared, "I helped recover some of the artifacts to the demon prison itself! I am a knight of dawn, sworn to protect the world! I risked my sanity and lost years of my life to a good cause and I still went into battle! My last name is Burgess for crying out loud!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kendra asked.

"It's a cool last name," Warren said simply, "Worthy of a slice of cake."

"For the last time, No!" Kendra said, "You cannot have any of the cake until later this evening!"

"I didn't want to do this," Warren said sadly, "But you gave me no choice! Calling in reinforcements! Calling in reinforcements! Calling in reinforcements!" Suddenly, the bushes nearby started to rustle and three more figures. None other than her brother and the first-class moochers, Newel and Doren.

As soon as they arrived, Warren vanished into the bushes. Probably to save himself from the blame and the trouble, Kendra net he was planning to come back once they had stolen the cake. He was always looking for a way out of work, sometimes Kendra mistook him for a satyr!

"We want cake!" Seth cried, marching around her, "We want cake!

"I second that!" Newel agreed, holding Kendra's gaze.

"I third that!" Doren added on, placing his hands on his furry hips for emphasis. Kendra looked like she was ready to throw the cake at them, but she didn't want to give them any victory. As they would probably say, a smushed cake is better than no cake.

"You idiot, that's not even the right word!" Newel scolded.

"Yes, it is!" Doren countered.

"No, it's not!" Newel said firmly.

"Guys, stop bickering!" Seth elbowed them, "Focus on the reason we came here, remember? Start sequence 13A and then Y5F before K89." Newel and Doren blinked and Seth sighed, "Take the cake and then run away before Kendra catches on."

"I can hear you!" Kendra said, "And don't you dare!

"Oh!" Newel said.

"Why didn't you just say so?" Doren asked.

"Now!" Seth roared, as they initiated their plan. Newel quickly ran up to Kendra and snatched the cake from her hands, well Doren blocked the way to his friend, by holding her arm. Seth smiled victoriously as he strolled up to his sister, "I win." He said.

"Let go of me!" Kendra said and Doren instantly let go of her hand and she started to feel a little dizzy but didn't stop. "Give it back!" Newel was just walking back shamefully, most likely to return the cake. But that is when Kendra collapsed into her brother's arms.

And the world went dark.

* * *

Kendra's eyes fluttered open painfully as she took in her surroundings. She was back in her room, but she found it hard to fully take in her surroundings due to the heaviness on her eyes. She quickly gave up on trying to open her eyes and allowed them to close. Just for a minute.

"You awake?" Came a voice. She mentally sighed as she readied herself back to the task of opening her eyes. Whoever the voice was, waited patiently, maybe five minutes before Kendra finally opened her eyes. She instantly felt a little relief at the sight of her boyfriend sitting beside her bed.

"Bracken, what are you doing here?" She asked curiously, her voice a little tired and strained, "I thought you were in the fairy realm."

"I was," Bracken said, "But your brother called me the other day saying that you had collapsed in the woods." He brushed the hair out of her eyes softly and touched his horn to her forehead, sending a little energy into her. Kendra hoped it would help, she would need quite a bit of energy, for she was quite tired.

"The other day?" Kendra couldn't help but yelp, "How long have I been out?"

"Two days," Bracken said, "I came as fast as I could so I could help you."

"Your birthday!" Kendra forgot about her troubles for a minute, "I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright love," he said, "I'm just happy you woke up for me, that's all I need right now. Do you know what happened when you fell? I could use a few clues to figure out what happened to you, my guess is it isn't an enemy, but I cannot be sure. Have you made contact with anything recently or noticed anything strange.

"No," Kendra said truthfully.

"That doesn't sound good," Bracken said, he never was one to hide things from Kendra. It was one of the things she loved about him.

"What should I do?" Kendra asked.

"I was thinking we should go talk to mother," Bracken admitted, "I'm sure everything is fine, but she would be furious if I didn't tell her about a poor condition. You know she loves you, maybe even more than she loves me." There was no jealousy in his voice, but Kendra couldn't help but feel guilty.

"She loves you," Kendra said, "But I think it's better safe than sorry. When do you want to leave?"

Bracken flashed her a smile, "How about now?" He asked.

"Alright, help me stand up," Kendra said, as she wobbled to stand upright. "I'm a little dizzy," she apologized.

"Quite alright." Bracken said, a hint of older talk showing, "Take your time." After many attempts, Bracken had managed to help Kendra stand upright. He put a firm around her shoulders to help her stand, "just in case." As he led her towards the fairy shrine. They took a few tumbles, but Bracken was as patient as ever.

Before long, they arrived at their destination. The fairy shrine.

 _Hello Kendra,_ came the melodious voice.

Kendra knew she wouldn't be able to curtsy, but bowed her head as best she could in a show of respect. "Your majesty."

 _Bracken informed me that you fainted two days ago,_ the fairy queen said, _I wanted to check on you._

"Thank you for your concern," Kendra said, "I'm sure it was nothing big, I bet I just overworked myself a little bit."

_Kendra, do you know what day it was that day?_

"No," Kendra said truthfully, "Nothing special at least."

 _I have five children,_ the fairy queen conveyed, _one for each equinox. Bracken is no different but on these days my magic blooms it's brightest, as does yours._

"Are you saying what I'm thinking?" Kendra asked.

_I had not told you of this, for I didn't want you to feel disappointed if it did not happen. But it seems I was wrong not to tell you._

"It's alright," Kendra said genuinely.

A flow of warmth hit Kendra, but unlike a hard blow to the stomach, it came more as praise. _Thank you, my handmaiden, But we must return to our discussion, did anything that day stand out to you?_

"Nothing I can think of at the moment," Kendra admitted, oblivious to her next statement, "It was a good day. I had a great morning and everyone was listening to me for once. I baked a cake for Bracken and talked with Vanessa well doing it. My brother and cousin were being idiots like usual."

_Interesting, I think I see what happened._

Kendra heard no more, but Bracken still looked as if he was listening to his mother. Kendra guessed that's exactly what they were doing, only in private. Kendra hoped it was good news, she really didn't want to get into any trouble. She thought back to what she had said and looked deeper into it. But before she could get truly into it, she felt the queen's presence return.

_Bracken will convey with you. I must go._

Kendra felt strange enough to do a clumsy curtsy as she felt the presence leave her mind for the last time. At least for today that is. She turned to face her boyfriend, "What happened?" She asked curiously, "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine," he assured her as they got into the boat, holding out a hand to her. Her strength was now fully restored, curtsy of spending time in the Majesty's presence, but she accepted his help nonetheless. He helped her into the boat in one smooth motion.

"Are you going to tell me what happened back there?" She asked curiously.

"Mother was right about new power," Bracken said.

"Really?" Kendra asked excitedly.

"We don't know what it is," Bracken admitted, "All fairy kinds are different, but we think this is some kind of charm, to put it one way."

"Charm?" Kendra asked.

"You can convince people by putting emotion into words, that's what we've picked up so far. I'm guessing you did it inwardly there the other day but used it so much your body couldn't keep up, which is why you fainted in the woods." Bracken tried to explain.

"So I'm a charmer now?" Kendra asked.

"You always were always charming," Bracken said smoothly, "But that's one way to put it."

Kendra slapped his arm playfully, "Flatterer." Bracken chuckled as he rowed them back to shore.

* * *

"Let me get this straight." Seth said, "Kendra can tell me what to do and I have no say against it."

"Pretty much," Kendra said, "This is going to be fun!"

"Well, it's a good thing you have limits." Seth said, "Otherwise, I would never hear the end of it. You'd probably make me run around Fablehaven insulting every fairy that I see. Make me steal from the most guarded place in Fablehaven. Or worse, make me compliment you."

"Thanks for the idea!" Kendra said.

Seth slapped his forehead, he was going to be in for a long ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Am I missing anything? Oh right! Self promo! So umm.... Comments/kudos are cool. Very welcome. (Seriously....)


	3. Treats Please, No Tricks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Hello! Here’s my late Halloween chapter! I had this ready to post, but I honestly just forgot. I have no idea where this chapter came from. Well, I hope you people enjoy this! :)

“Boo,” Seth whispered right into Kendra’s ear, causing a slight jump from his sister. Seth smiled in satisfaction as his hair tickled her neck before he pulled away.

“Seth!” She said angrily, “Don’t do that!” She was really starting to get sick of her brother’s “Halloween rules” which basically yelled to annoy everyone as much as possible.

“Where’s your sense of humor?” Seth pouted, “It’s Halloween for crying out loud, I should at least be allowed to scare you. Unless of course, I’m convinced by other means that you know of…”

“Seth, I’m not giving you any of my candy!” Kendra exclaimed, “You’ll be hyper enough as it is, you don’t want to have a sugar crash, do you? And no, that doesn’t mean you get extra sugar, it means you’ll get incredibly sick. Trust me, you don’t want that to happen.”

Seth raised his hands, “I offered, but it’s Halloween, I am allowed to be a little creepy.”

Kendra rolled her eyes, “Just don’t ruin the entire evening for me alright? I’m really looking forward to the part later.” She smiled in victory at Seth’s face.

“There’s a party!” Seth cried, “Why was I not informed of this!”

“You were informed of it,” Kendra rolled her eyes, “We had a whole discussion at dinner the other night. You were too busy playing footsie with Warren to think about the conversation.”

“Tell me!” Seth jumped.

“No.,” Kendra said.

“Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!” He changed, “Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!”

“I will if you promise not to ruin it for me,” Kendra said.

“No promises!” Seth said happily, “But I’ll do my best to restrain myself, how does that sound? Eh?” 

Kendra sighed. “I know I’m not going to get a better offer than that, so find. One of the previous caretakers who managed this preserve right when Halloween had its basics started a tradition at Fablehaven.”

“Keep going,” Seth said, “But don’t give me the full lecture.

Kendra rolled her eyes, “The caretaker was a good one and to honor him, they continued the tradition after his passing.”

“Boring!” Seth said, “Get to the part about the party.”

Kendra huffed but obliged. “Everyone goes around Fablehaven and explores. Different areas will do different things, I don’t know exactly what. And at the end of every night, they host a party for people for food, drink, and dancing.”

“I take it, Bracken asked you to go?” Seth teased.

Kendra blushed, he had indeed asked her to the fall dance. “Maybe,” she said, doing her best to sound aloof. “He thought it would be fun to go together.”

“As friends?” Seth pushed.

Kendra didn’t answer and was rather fascinated with the homemade pumpkin muffin on her plate. She picked at the wrapper as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. This was not enough to stop Seth though and Kendra knew it. She couldn’t help but hope…

“Or as a date?” And with that, all hope vanished.

“He just asked if I would go with him,” Kendra said slowly, taking care in her choice of words so it wasn’t technically a lie. “And I said I would.”

“Sounds like a date to me,” Seth said smartly.

“It’s not a date.” Kendra repeated, “We're just going to an event together.”

“Call it what you want, but it’s a date.” Seth said, “I bet it’s going to be so romantic, don’t you think? The leaves falling, the moon rising, the wind blowing your hair majestically in the wind. Sharing a meal and maybe some alone time. Oh, hold me tighter!” He swooned dramatically.

Kendra blushed a violent red, Seth was afraid she had turned into a tomato. A tomato would be very tasty… “I’m leaving!” She announced as she tumbled away, cursing under her breath.

Now it was Seth’s turn to smile victoriously. It was easy to get his sister flustered, you just couldn’t let her get the upper-hand on you. You had to get the upper-hand on her and make her speechless, or wale there was no point in trying to battle her.

“Oh, Seth!” Kendra called, “The event starts in thirty minutes!”

Seth spit out the milk he was drinking, “What!” He cried.

“Yeah!” Kendra said, “This event is an all-day thing! The thing that’s basically trick or treat won’t start until later, but they already have a spread out. They also convinced a few fairies and satyrs to play some music for us. I would recommend getting your butt over there before Warren steals all the good stuff, it’s going to be near the fairy shrine I believe!”

Seth didn’t have to be told twice. He quickly put his cup down and ran up to his room to change into some clothes. After a quick comb on his hair, he was already out the door. He dashed through the trees and down the dirt path. Typically he would go by the fancy one made from yellow brick, but this dirt way was a lot faster from what he had gathered. Within ten minutes, he arrived at the fairy shrine. He looked around, but noticed nothing out of the ordinary except for his grandfather standing off to the sides.

“Seth!” Grandpa Sorenson greeted, walking over. “I’m glad you decided to help set up the party! Kendra said you were coming, but I could hardly believe it! Come on over, we have a lot of work to do.”

Seth must have been frozen for minutes before he regained himself. “But,” he tried to argue.

Grandpa Sorenson waved him off, “Come on now son, we have a lot of work to do if we want to get this party up and running.”

Seth was going to kill his sister.

* * *

Kendra laughed to herself as she imagined what her brother's reaction would be when he found himself having to set up the party all morning. Call it revenge for all the times he had done similar things to her, he should have known better than to do that!

“What’s so funny?” Vanessa asked curiously, looking over to her friend.

“I just tricked Seth into setting up for the party this afternoon,” Kendra explained, “We won’t be seeing him for a while.”

“Really?” Vanessa smirked, “What if I told you I just did the same thing to Warren?”

“I’d say great minds think alike,” Kendra said. Her blix friend smiled before taking a seat next to Kendra on the couch. “Could you tell me a little more about the party?” Kendra asked curiously, “I’ll admit I don’t know too much.”

“It’s basically trick or treating like you said,'' Vanessa admitted, “It originated from the magical world, believe it or not. Except it has its own magical twist on it. Sometimes, people will hand out tricks or curses.” She looked at Kendra's horrified face and added the next part quickly, “Nothing deadly! Just things like having to sing for the rest of the night.”

Kendra let out a sigh of relief, “I was going to say,” she trailed off.

“Do you really think your grandfather would allow you to do this even with the littlest amount of danger?” Vanessa said mischievously, “I’ve never seen someone so overprotective as him.”

“With sincere intentions,” Kendra snorted, “I bet Warren would wrap me in bubble wrap if he could.”

Vanessa chuckled, “That sounds like Warren.”

“I’m not kidding!” Kendra exclaimed, “He was this close to doing it the other day, but Dale stopped him just in time.” Vanessa was laughing at this point and Kendra was smiling from eye to eye. “Have you ever done the trick or treating event?” Kendra asked innocently.

“I don’t think they would do a trick or treat in the society of the evening star,” Vanessa joked a little too seriously.

“I’m sorry,” Kendra said sincerely.

“It’s alright,” Vanessa assured her, “By the way, what are you going to dress up as for Halloween?”

“I don’t know,” Kendra said honestly.

“Alright,” Vanessa got up, “Come on, we’re picking out your costume.”

Kendra rolled her eyes but got up nonetheless. “I don’t know what I should be.”

“Well, you do have a date this afternoon right?” Vanessa said mischievously, “Though I don’t approve of your choice in men, I don’t want you to have no fun.”

Kendra blushed bright red, “It’s not a date!” She cried, “Why does everyone think that!”

Vanessa snorted, “You clearly haven’t seen the way he looks at you,” Vanessa taunted.

“Vanessa!” Kendra cried, “How about we just focus on my costume?”

“Right!” Vanessa snapped her fingers, “So considering you have a ‘not date’ this afternoon,” Kendra was blushing bright red, “You’ll want something you can move in. You also don’t want to offend anyone here or use any modern costumes, it confuses them. Normally, I wouldn’t mind confusing them, but it gets them angry sometimes. The centaurs will think you’re taunting them with the knowledge they don’t know.”

“That’s a lot of rules,” Kendra remarked.

Vanessa shrugged, “It’s not too much once you get the hang of it, from what I’ve heard at least.”

“Who told you all of this?” Kendra asked.

“A little from the society when I was learning about the preserve,” she said, “But a lot of it came from Warren. This is actually one of his favorite holidays, believe it or not. He likes trying to scare people and to steal candy. When he was little, he used to go out with Dale every year.”

“That’s sweet,” Kendra said. She knew all about Dale and Warren’s brotherhood, they were the model siblings.

“Are you two gossiping about me?” Came the playful voice as it entered the room.

“Hey Warren,” Kendra said, without looking up.

“Seriously though,” Warren said, “Gossiping about me?”

Kendra rolled her eyes, “No, we were just talking about Halloween. She was telling me how you liked the holiday when you were a kid.”

“I still do!” Warren said, “I haven’t gotten to do it in a while.”

“What are you going to dress up as?” Kendra asked, knowing she should have kept her mouth shut.

“It’s going to be amazing” Warren rubbed his hands together, “But That's all I’m telling you. It’s going to be a surprise!”

“I’m scared,” Kendra’s eyes widened as she turned to face Vanessa, who chuckled in return.

“What about you Kendra?” Warren asked.

“Right,” Vanessa said evilly, “Tricky, tricky, tried to distract me from the fact you need a costume.” She grabbed Kendra’s arm and started pulling her toward Vanessa's room. Warren sent a pitying glance but kept his mischievous smile as Kendra was led upstairs.

“Where are we going?” Kendra asked curiously.

“My room,” Vanessa said, “Let’s get you a costume.”

* * *

“Where’s your sister?” Bracken asked curiously. Seth looked over at his unicorn friend. He was wearing a corner on top of his head and fancy threads. Seth was dressed up as a satyr, Newel, and Doren rolled their eyes saying ‘It took character to be a satyr and rugged good looks’, but he kept the costume anyway.

“Are you seriously dressed as a prince?” Seth asked curiously.

“Hey, I was in a rush!” He said defensively, “Besides, I already had this costume.” His voice dropped to a whisper, “Technically, this is my Royal outfit.” Seth nodded in understanding, he knew Bracken couldn’t exactly advertise being a unicorn and prince of the fairy realm.

“You look fine,” he said, “Kendra will be here soon. I’m going to get my revenge on her though.”

“What did she do?” Bracken asked.

“Tricked me into setting up this party,” Seth fumed.

Bracken chuckled, “Did she?”

“I’ve been setting up this party for hours,” he pouted, “I’ve had to clean and set up literally everything here.” He gestured to the set up around the fairy shrine. All-round there were flashing lights, food, drink, and chairs. 

“It looks good if that makes you feel any better.” Bracken nudged him.

Seth snorted, “Of course it looks good. I made it, didn’t I? I would probably still be setting it up if Dale didn’t offer to take over for me so I could trick or treat with you guys.”

“That was nice of him,” Bracken said.

“I guess,” Seth said before getting annoyed again, “But if Kendra doesn’t get here soon, we’re never going to get to leave. We also still need Warren and Vanessa, Tanu is setting up as well along with the others.”

“I’m here!” Came a voice from the bushes. Seth turned to see his cousin standing behind the bushes, but his cousin was wearing an interesting costume.

“Warren, what the heck are you?” Seth blurted out.

Warren pouted, “I’m a centaur!”

Seth looked at his costume a little closer. It seemed like he was standing up and the front pair of hooves was his feet and the second pair was wheels. Seth had to admit it looked pretty good, but he wasn’t going to admit that to his cousin. His ego did not need any more additions, let alone today. “Dude, seriously?”

“I like it!” Warren wandered over. That’s when Seth confirmed the back pair of hooves was wheels, you could see the way they were pulled. “I happened to have worked very hard on it.”

“It looks good,” Bracken said, “Did you see Kendra and Vanessa on your way over here?”

“We’re here!” Came the call from a few paces away. Seth turned to see Vanessa standing right in front of them. She was wearing a secrecies unicorn, complete with the vest and a spyglass. Seth had to admit she looked pretty professional in it. The way she walked was confidently, only adding to the character of the detective. 

“You look good Van,” Warren pecked her cheek.

“Warren, what the heck are you dressed as!” Vanessa gestured to him.

“I’m a centaur!” Warren repeated, “Apparently, this costume is too awesome for you people!”

“If you get cursed because of that, I’m not taking credit,” Vanessa vowed.

“Where’s Kendra?” Seth asked giddily, “We can leave as soon as she is here!”

Vanessa smirked, “She’s on her way.” 

“What did you do?” Warren asked, “You have that look on your face.”

“Nothing,” Vanessa said, “There she is!”

Seth cocked his head at her before turning back to the path where Vanessa had come from. Sure enough, his sister was standing right there. Seth had to admit she looked pretty dang good for a Halloween costume. She was wearing a long black dress, fitting her perfectly. Colorful flames dancing on the end and the tips of her hair dyed to look like fire, with just a touch of makeup. She looked extremely bashful though, which was clear in her posture.

“What do you think?” Vanessa bragged, “I dressed her up myself.”

“You look good cousin,” Warren said, “Is that a Katniss Everdeen dress?”

“Similar,” Kendra said, “I was just going to put on a Girl Scout sash, but Vanessa said to go all out.”

Seth smirked at Bracken, who was clearly staring at her. Kendra blushed, but that!s when Seth started to get annoyed. This was Halloween, not Valentine’s Day for crying out loud!

“Let’s go,” Seth walked down the past, “Where are we going first?”

“Well, we might as well hit the fairy shrine, well we’re here,” Vanessa said.

Warren clapped, “Their candy is amazing! It’s extremely sweet!”

“Dude, you seem to know a lot about this,” Seth remarked.

“I may be an idiot, but I’m not dumb.” Warren said, “Wait, that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Come on,” Seth said as they walked towards the shrine, he knew they weren’t supposed to tread on it, so he was unsure of where they were going. Warren seemed to know, so he blindly followed his cousin. They walked right up to the pier and to the end of the dock before Warren stopped. “What do we now?” Seth asked.

“Give it a minute,” Warren cautioned. A minute passed before he talked again, “Alright, on three.”

“One,” Vanessa said.

“Two,” Warren said.

“Three,” Vanessa finished.

“Trick or treat!” They called out into the pier, once again, blindly following Warren’s instructions. They heard some grumbling from the pond before a beam of faint light erupted from the shrine and headed over to them. Seth watched in wonder as it entered each of their bags, revealing candy in each one. How the candy was modern, Seth had no idea, but he wasn’t exactly complaining either.

“Cool,” Seth remarked.

“I honestly didn’t expect that to happen,” Kendra admitted.

“The queen likes her tricks,” Bracken said proudly, “She always likes to have some fun with this. Just be lucky you weren’t here a few millennia ago, you used to have to prove yourself for the candy.”

“You say millennia like it was just last year,” Seth teased.

Bracken shrugged, “It wasn't last year, but I suppose you could view it like that. It isn’t exactly correct though.”

“Where are we going next?” Kendra asked.

“We could go visit the centaur's,” Vanesa suggested, “They probably wouldn’t be my first choice, but maybe they can be an exception on Halloween.”

“Sounds good,” Kendra agreed.

Vanessa led the way this time, she was the best navigator out of the five of them. Seth always found himself getting lost whenever he tried to lead, so he played along. Suddenly, they heard the clomping of hooves coming towards them. Instinctively, all five of them got into a defensive position. But when they realized it was most likely Just centaurs, they relaxed their guard.

“Who dares come this close to Gunhold?” A centaur said as they approached them, “Without permission, nonetheless.”

“We came to trick or treat!” Seth said, “Got any candy for us?”

The second centaur turned to face the other, “WindBreaker, wasn’t it just Halloween last year?”

“I forgot it was a yearly holiday SoundRunner,” WindBreaker grumbled.

“What is this insult!” SoundRunner fumed as he stared at Warren.

“I’m a centaur!” Warren said, clomping around. Seth slapped his forehead at his cousin. He knew he could be foolish sometimes, but Warren was starting to take this stupid thing to a whole new level.

“You think you can shove on some cheap costume and call yourself a centaur?” WindBreaker fumed, “Of all insults, this is the worst! Do you think you can just clomp around here stupidly in that thing and call yourself a centaur? Absorb!”

“I object!” Warren announced. Vanessa signaled for him to shut up, but he ignored her. “I think I am an amazing centaur! Listen to my impression!” Seth felt like dying as he started to make donkey sounds.

The centaurs face turned purple as they listened to Warren. “You dare!”

“Eee-honk!” Warren squeaked.

“Please pardon him,” Vanessa said, “We’ll be leaving now. Have an amazing Halloween!”

“Snort!” Warren shouted, “Eeee-Awww!”

“He must pay for his insults!” SoundRunner fumed, “We must duel to regain our honor!”

“I stand as a witness!” WindBreaker added.

Warren stopped suddenly before turning to face the centaurs and bowed, “I apologize for my earlier behavior,” he said smoothly, “I was so Star-struck in the presence of you, that I lost myself. I dress up not as an insult, I could never dream of being such an incredible creature like you! You flatter me to even call this a costume. Thank you for gracing me with your presence, I never dreamed I would get to meet a creature such as you otherwise.”

The centaurs and everyone else looked at him in surprise.

“I suppose we could let you go,” WindBreaker said. “If you leave now.”

“Thank you,” Warren said.

“You” re welcome,” SoundRunner said, “Now leave.”

Needless to say, they left as soon as they were given the opportunity. As soon as they were out of hearing range, Seth turned to face his cousin. “Dude, what was that?” He asked.

Warren smiled mischievously, “Who says I can have a little fun now and then? And who says I can come back from it?”

“Wow, you almost sounded smart for a minute,” Kendra remarked.

“And because I am Warren-freaking-Burgess.” He added, “I’m just amazing like that.”

And just like that, the old Warren was back.

* * *

Kendra took a sip of punch as she leaned back against the tree. After many hours of trick or treating, they had found themselves back at the fairy shrine for the party. She had to admit it was a pretty nice party. There were lots of people/creatures there and everyone seemed to be having a good time. She was having a good time as well so far, but she had just gotten here minutes ago.

She inwardly groaned as she saw Verl approach her. “Kendra, I couldn’t help but come over after your presence graced this party.” He said, “I must say, you look especially beautiful tonight.”

“Thanks, Verl,” Kendra smiled awkwardly, “You don’t look half bad yourself.”

“Why thank you,” he straightened his bow tie, “I was curious how you managed to get so beautiful for tonight or did it just come naturally for you? I bet it was the second option.”

“How sweet,” Kendra said.

“The black looks beautiful on you, it really enchants your hair color.” He gushed.

Kendra felt like running away at this point, “Thank you.” She said, “I think they now tie compliments to your… hooves.”

“You’re too kind,” he said, before holding out a hand to her. “Can I ask you for a dance?”

Luckily, Kendra was quickly rescued before she would have to answer him. “Sorry Verl,” Bracken said, “She promised me the next one.”

“Oh,” Verl said sadly, “Maybe later then.”

“Maybe,” Bracken hooked his arm in Kendra’s, “Have a nice night.”

“You too,” Verl said sadly, before grumbling to himself.

Once they had gotten to the other side of the shrine, Kendra turned to face Bracken. “Thanks,” she said.

“You’re welcome,” Bracken said, “I wasn’t kidding about that dance though if you would like to do that.”

Kendra hoped she wasn’t blushing when she said the next part, “That sounds good,” she said. Bracken smiled as he led her towards the dance floor.

Yes, Halloween was a fun holiday, but it was even better at Fablehaven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> And............ Don’t forget to comment before you leave! (You really should have seen that coming ;P)


End file.
